SOLEDAD: LIFE AS A STUDENT, ESPECIALLY A SENIOR HAS FOREVER CHANGED. THEY WON’T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HEAR THEIR FAMILY CHEER THEM ON AS THEY WALK ACROSS THE STAGE TO ACCEPT THEIR DIPLOMA OR DEGREE. HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WILL MISS PROM, SENIOR NIGHT AND ALL OF THE RITES OF PASSAGE OF THE FINAL YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL. COLLEGE SENIORS SHOULD HAVE STEPPED INTO A HOT JOB MARKET, NOW THEY FACE FEWER JOB PROSPECTS. BUT INSTEAD OF SITTING ON THE SIDELINES, THEYRE STEPPING UP IN TIME OF CRISIS. WE HEAD BACK TO WISCONSIN FOR OUR FIRST SALUTE TO THE CLASS OF 2020, WHERE CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ SPENT TIME WITH A COLLEGE SENIOR SEWING MASKS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. JESSICA: FASHION DESIGN STUDENT, EMMA TSCHURWALD, A SENIOR AT KENT STATE ONE DAY, BACK HOME IN WISCONSIN, THE NEXT. EMMA: WE DON’T HAVE A GRADUATION CEREMONY OR ANYTHING, IT’S ALL DONE. SO NOW IT’S ON TO FINDING A JOB. JESSICA: WITH THAT ON HOLD FOR NOW, EMMA, IS PUTTING HER DESIGN SKILLS TO WORK. USING HER GRANDMOTHER’S FABRIC, AND HER GREAT GRANDMOTHERS SEWING MACHINE, SHE’S MAKING MASKS FOR LOCAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. EMMA: WE HAVE A FRIEND DOWN THE STREET WHO IS AN ER DOCTOR AND WE CONTACTED HIM TO SEE WHAT THEY NEEDED, WHAT THEY WERE SHORT ON, WHAT WE COULD DO TO HELP. JESSICA: EMMA’S ASSISTANTS, HER MOM, AND HER YOUNGER COUSIN HANNAH. >> WE’RE ALL LEARNING, THERE’S A FEW JAGGED EDGES BUT WE HAVE GOTTEN THROUGH IT. IT’S OK. JESSICA: WITH THE HUM OF A HALF A CENTURY OLD SEWING MACHINE, AN ASSEMBLY LINE OF HELPING HANDS. >> WE’VE PLAYED A LOT OF CARDS, DONE SOME PUZZLES, WATCHED SOME NETFLIX, BUT THIS IS MUCH DIFFERENT. YOU FEEL SO GOOD ABOUT GIVING BACK, AND HAVING THEM TAKE CHARGE OF IT, I AM JUST AN ASSISTANT. JESSICA: A MISSED COLLEGE GRADUATION AND HIGH SCHOOL PROM, SEEMING A LITTLE LESS IMPORTANT NOW. EMMA: IT FEELS GOOD TO DO IT, YEAH, I AM EXCITED TO SEE THEM BE TAKEN AND USED OUT IN THE WORLD. JESSICA: THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG, FIRST RESPONDERS, QUICK TO PICK UP THE FIRST BATCH. PHYSICIAN TIM WESTLAKE, ALSO MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT, HE SAYS EMMA’S MASKS WILL WORK WELL, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WITH POCKETS, FOR ADDED PROTECTION. >> THEY CAN BE AS EFFECTIVE AS THE SIMPLE SURGICAL MASKS. ESPECIALLY, WITH THE FILTERS THAT YOU PUT INSIDE OF IT WHICH MAKE IT LIKE A QUASI N95 MASKS. JESSICA: HARTLAND FIRE CHIEF DAVE JAMBRETZ, SAYS THE HELP CAN’T COME FAST ENOUGH >> THE SUPPLIES ARE MINIMAL, IF YOU HAVEN’T ORDERED FROM SOME OF THESE COMPANIES, THEY WON’T EVEN TALK TO YOU ANYMORE. JESSICA: CREATING CONCERN FOR HIS CREWS OUT IN THE FIELD. >> I HAVE 42 ACTIVE MEMBERS, 8 PARAMEDICS. IF ONE OR TWO OF THEM GOES DOWN, YOU KNOW I AM SCARED AS TO WHERE I WOULD GO WITH THAT. A MASK LIKE THAT WE CAN USE AN INFINITE NUMBER OF TIMES, WE CAN WASH THEM ON A DAILY BASIS AND WAS THEM AFTER EVERY CALL. JESSICA: FOR EMMA, THEY’RE DESIGNS THAT WILL NEVER SEE A RUNWAY, BUT PERHAPS THE MOST IMPACTFUL OF HER FASHION CAREER. EMMA: I AM GLAD I CAN BE HERE DOING WHAT I CAN, USING THE SKILLS I HAVE LEARNED AT SCHOOL. >> THE PEOPLE WE DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS STEPPING UP TO MAKE US MASKS LIKE THEY DID, IT’S JUST A PHENOMENAL THING. THAT HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED, CAN’T EXPRESS ENOUGH HOW APPRECIATED THAT

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Class of 2020: A Fashion Design Student Sewing Masks

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Updated: 7:47 AM CDT Apr 11, 2020

The coronavirus has turned the world on its head, upending plans for millions. That includes the class of 2020, many of whom will no longer be able to walk down the graduation aisle this year. But in the wake of this pandemic, some are stepping up. In our first installment of the “Class of 2020” we meet Emma Tschurwald, a fashion design student outfitting workers on the front line of the crisis.

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The coronavirus has turned the world on its head, upending plans for millions. That includes the class of 2020, many of whom will no longer be able to walk down the graduation aisle this year. But in the wake of this pandemic, some are stepping up. In our first installment of the “Class of 2020” we meet Emma Tschurwald, a fashion design student outfitting workers on the front line of the crisis.